Jannik Sinner opens up on his Roland-Garros collapse: “It could happen again”
For the first time, Jannik Sinner has hinted that his second-round defeat at Roland-Garros was down to a health problem that could recur. But with no details forthcoming, what are we to believe?
Jannik Sinner, Wimbledon 2026 | © Ch. Caillaud / PsNewz
Jannik Sinner has spoken for the first time about the physical episode that undid him at Roland-Garros, admitting after his second-round win at Wimbledon that he now understands what happened in Paris – but cannot rule out its recurrence.
In doing so, Sinner once again suggests that he was not the victim of a heat-related episode – as in Shanghai in October 2025, or in Melbourne last January – but rather of a more general health problem, which could equally be part of a communications strategy designed to avoid presenting himself as vulnerable to the heat, with temperatures above 30, even 32, degrees forecast for London once again from this weekend.
The world No. 1, who reached the third round with a 7-6, 7-6, 6-4 victory over Nuno Borges, was asked again, in the Italian portion of his press conference, about the collapse that cost him a shock second-round exit at the French Open, when he faded physically against Juan Manuel Cerúndolo after leading by two sets.
For the first time, the 24-year-old addressed it candidly, while declining to reveal clinical detail. “We’ve understood what happened,” he said. “But it could happen again, because it’s not a situation you solve overnight. It’s something broader than that.”
After my first match here against Kecmanović, I woke up not feeling great – my body didn’t feel its best
Sinner suggested he and his team have adopted an approach designed to guard against a repeat of this malore (a “feeling unwell moment”), without describing it. “We’re doing everything in the best possible way, and hopefully it won’t happen again,” he said. “But if it does come out again, we’ll have understood that perhaps it isn’t quite the right path. We’ll see.”
The defending champion, still visibly short of his best on grass after weeks without competition, was also asked about waking up out of sorts the morning after his five-set opener against Miomir Kecmanović. He was quick to separate that from the Paris episode. “After my first match here against Kecmanović, I woke up not feeling great – my body didn’t feel its best,” he said.
“But no, that was more because of the fall I had in the first round, nothing else.” The priority now, he said, is recovery. “Today it was important to use as little energy as possible, and now the key is to recover well and be ready for the third round.”
Sinner takes on American world No. 81 Jenson Brooksby on Friday.
